It’s been almost two years, but… finally. It’s coming. Cyclocross!

Personally, as someone who has also raced collegiate, road, track, and mountain bikes, cyclocross is absolutely the most fun bike racing experience you can have. The ratio of hanging out with friends to minutes spent suffering is extremely high, it’s a fun, party atmosphere, and the way that the racing itself works out means that there is pretty much always someone in front of you and behind you, so the racing is fun and challenging whether you’re in 2nd or 32nd (I don’t have a ton of experience racing in 1st place so I can’t really help you there—also seems fun though?).

Here’s what you’re going to need for cyclocross, from most to least important:

A bike
A way to get to races
Hype
Cyclocross-specific skills

Let’s discuss in that order…

Your bike

Obviously, writing this in summer 2021, “go out and get yourself a new bike” is easier said than done. Luckily, a cyclocross-specific bike is not actually necessary to have a good time racing cyclocross. Cyclocross is raced primarily in grass and dirt, so what is actually important is tires that are going to have some traction on those surfaces. Your gravel bike? Totally fine. Absolutely come race cyclocross on that bike, the difference between it and a “cyclocross” bike is basically some small tweaks to the frame geometry, and unless you’re planning on doing 20 races a season and gunning for a UCI start, it doesn’t matter. If you’ve got relatively slick tires on your gravel bike, consider buying yourself some knobby tires, but otherwise, you’re good to go.

A mountain bike also works. It’s likely to be a bit slower than a cross bike, but you know who cares if you come in 21st place when you could have been 16th on a faster bike? Nobody. If you’re just looking to dip your toe in the water and see what cross is all about, come out with your mountain bike and lean into it. Probably lock out your suspension. People may heckle you in good fun. Heckle them back. Do a wheelie for the fans. People are going to see you and think you’re really cool for coming out and joining the party even though your cross bike is in the shop. Hopefully they’ll offer you a beer handup.

A ROAD bike? Sort of depends on what kind of tires you can fit on there???? I’m a person who acquired her first disc road bike literally two weeks ago and it’s sitting in my apartment with half a crank on it, so I’m not actually sure what is going on in road bike tire clearance these days. If you can somehow fit knobby tires on your road bike, go for it. If you’ve got 28mm slicks on there and no possibility of getting anything else but you REALLY wanna try cyclocross, you know what? Email me and I’ll recommend some of the less technical local races to try out. Be a legend.

So you actually want to buy a cyclocross bike for a reasonable price? Hit up ebay and start looking for bikes with cantilever brakes. THEY WORK. I raced cantis for years and years, long after most people had switched to disc. They’re a little annoying and definitely don’t have the immediate stopping power of discs, but that’s your affordable in into cyclocross right now, and you’re going to have a great time racing on a canti bike. ALSO, when it’s wet out and everybody around you has completely run through their brake pads halfway through the race, you’re brake pads are going to be… well also not really working but definitely still there!

Come out to Randall’s Island and make some friends with cars!

Getting to Races

This used to be sort of a problem for a lot of people who lived in New York City, as there are few CX races that are accessible by public transportation. Luckily, half the people who used to beg for rides every weekend bought a pandemic car (me, I’m talking about me, and some others). Making friends is key to this step. In order to do that, join the NYC Cyclocross Facebook group, and come out to CX practice on Randall’s Island on Wednesday nights (it’s by the soccer fields under the Queens part of the Triboro, starts at 7pm before the time change, 6pm afterward). Check the Facebook or follow @keithgarrison on IG for updates on rain cancellations.

Let’s back up a little though—races? Which races? Glad you asked. There are a couple of websites that are indispensable to having a great cross season. If you are in New York City or the tristate area more generally, check out King Kog’s race calendar spreadsheet. It’s updated with information about basically any race within driving distance from the city, and in 2021 is especially important to continue to check on as races are moving around the calendar and switching up their formats more than usual this year. Second is Bikereg, where you will register for all of your races, and can search for cyclocross races within a certain number of miles from your house. Third is crossresults dot com, the most important website on the cyclocross internet. Here you will find not only race results but, more importantly, a race PREDICTOR, which will become your most important indicator of your self-worth, should you decide to fancy yourself a real amateur cyclocross racer. There’s nothing in the world like the massive, self-induced pre-race anxiety as you head to the line and think … “am I going to beat the crossresults race predictor today, or am I a loser who everyone hates?” Good luck unpacking that with your therapist, but let me tell you when you get 12th and the predictor had you at 15th, you feel on top of the world. Bring out the champagne.

All of the above said, if this seems like too much for you and you just want to try out cyclocross once, keep an eye out for Rainey Park CX. It’s in Queens, it’s easy to get to, and it’s a great time. You can even probably do it on your road bike (as long as it doesn’t snow, which it definitely will not this year).

Hype

Enthusiasm is way more key to racing cyclocross than skill. You’re not going to win on enthusiasm alone, but winning is overrated, and it’s only really worth the trouble of doing cyclocross if you’re having a great time. One of the things I love about cyclocross is that the experience is very much the same no matter where you are in the pack. Drafting isn’t really helpful in cross, so you’re mostly riding the course and tackling technical areas on your own. The basics of cyclocross racing are: your heart rate is pinned at its max, you’re chasing someone, and someone is chasing you, and that’s the same no matter what place you’re in. Cyclocross never gets easier, you just go faster.

Then, very shortly, your race is over and the real fun begins. Grab a beer or a seltzer, grab a seat, cheer on the sidelines, pet a dog. Being “good at” cyclocross means being fun to be around for the weekend.

Skills

Okay, so finally, the last and least important piece of racing cyclocross is being good at riding your bike. I was like four seasons into cross before I could properly dismount and remount my bike. I still had a great time before that, but it did make things significantly better (and me faster) to be able to do the thing. The things you want to work on are: dismounting and remounting your bike, riding off camber (that is, where the ground is at an angle and banked away from you), running with your bike (both in a “suitcase” position and on your shoulder), and riding rough terrain, both bumpy grass and rooty dirt. You could add some sand riding, although that is not that common in the Northeast, and, if you live in a place where the places to ride dirt are not almost 100% maintained by NYC Parks, riding in the mud when it gets wet.

In the city, you can come to Wednesday night CX practice and we do it all except the sand and the mud. Do not come if it is raining.

These things, however, are all folly unless you practice the ACTUAL most important cyclocross skill, which is turning your bike. There are two barriers and 50 feet of running on a cross course and people think that’s where they need to focus their skills practice, meanwhile they’re braking heavily into all 40 flat grass turns on the course and not getting any results. The faster you can feel comfortable going into a 180 degree turn, the better you will be at cyclocross. For amateur cyclocross, you don’t really need power, or running fitness, or seamless shouldering technique, you just need to be able to go fast while turning both left and right. Everything else is icing on the cake.

Finally, the last thing to know is the first relatively close cyclocross race of the season is going to be Whirlybird (a terrible course with a lot of fun people committed to going anyway, imo), and Reg Is Open.

See you there.